Claflin Men’s Basketball Finish 1-1 in the SIAC/GSC Challenge

Claflin Men’s Basketball Finish 1-1 in the SIAC/GSC Challenge

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Orangeburg, S.C. -- The University of Montevallo defeated Claflin University, 61-52, on the final day of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC)/Gulf South Conference (GSC) Men's Basketball Challenge Saturday at the Tullis Arena on the Claflin campus.
 
Claflin finished the SIAC/GSC Challenge at 1-1.
 
Jaleel Charles led the Panthers in the losing effort with 16 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Benjamin "Tre" Williams was the only other double-figure scorer for Claflin with 14 points.
 
Jordan Jones came off the bench to score nine points while Tyler Thompson contributed six points and four assists.
 
Jamaar Taylor of Montevallo led all scorers with 20 points.  Deshawn Jones added 12 points for the Falcons, who picked their first win of the season.
 
In the second half, Claflin scored the first five of the seven points to increase a 26-24 lead to 31-26 with 18:11; however, the lead did not last long.  The Falcons scored the next 10 points to take a 36-31 advantage with 15:28 left.
 
The Panthers closed the gap to two, 41-39, off a pair of free throws from "Tre" Williams with 13:28 left. That would be the closest Claflin would get as Montevallo outscored the Panthers 20-13 the rest of the way.
 
Montevallo protected its lead down the stretch by hitting five-of-six free throws. The Falcons finished the game 22-of-27 from the charity strip compared to 13-of-20 for Claflin.
 
In the first half, it was little scoring in the first 10 minutes as the teams combined for just 18 points as compared to 32 over the final 10 minutes.
 
Claflin opened the game with a 9-0 run before Montevallo managed to put three straight points on the board to trail 9-3 at the 13:50 mark of the first half.
 
After a Falcons basket, Kobie Williams drilled a three-pointer, giving the Panthers a 13-5 lead with 10:09 left in the half. Claflin would follow Williams' basket with an 8-5 run to take its biggest lead of 10 points at 21-10 with 6:40 showing on the clock.
 
Montevallo rallied over the next six minutes for a brief one-point lead, 24-23, with 59 seconds left before halftime, thanks to a 14-2 run. Free throws played an important role in the scoring spree for Montevallo as the Falcons were a perfect 10-for-10.
 
Claflin regained the lead just before intermission as Charles connected on a three-point play, giving the Panthers a 26-24 lead at the half.
Charles finished the half with 10 points and three blocks.
 
Claflin will return to action at home against Young Harris on Saturday (Nov. 18) for homecoming.
 
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